About UsDr. George Q. Daley hopes that his research will eventually help patients with sickle cell anemia, like Javron Castor. (Boston Globe Photo/Suzanne Kreiter)

Every day, the medical staff and researchers at Children's Hospital Boston witness the devastating effects of diseases like leukemia, diabetes, sickle cell anemia and heart disease on the lives of the children they treat. Every day, we see very small patients fighting very large battles just to stay alive. We see toddlers spending their days in blood transfusion units instead of on playgrounds, and teenagers living with a restrictive regimen of treatments and the knowledge that their promise of a future is uncertain. For them, and for their families, the hope is very simple: Please find a cure for our disease.

Our patients’ dreams of being healthy and of a future filled with promise are what drive the researchers, faculty and staff of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.